News Article Release

Midshipmen Help Rebuild Joplin

March 22, 2012

By Jessica Clark

Ten Naval Academy midshipmen traveled to Joplin, M.O., March 9-18 to spend their spring break assisting local families affected by tornado damage in May 2011.

Some of the volunteers had been part of the storm chasing team “Swift,” which was working near the location where the tornado touched down in 2011. These midshipmen were able to help with the search and rescue efforts in the days after the storm hit.

Midshipman 1st Class Stephanie Migut, who was part of the search and rescue effort last year, said the midshipmen were looking for more they could do to help and decided to take advantage of spring break to go back to Joplin to help rebuild.

The group, which included three other midshipmen from the original storm-chasing team, spent the week helping with construction and debris removal at local home sites. They took on projects like mixing cement and laying foundations, cleaning up yards strewn with shingles and broken glass, and taking down damaged roofs and porches.

“It was really rewarding,” Migut said. “I’ve done the typical spring break, but giving back makes you feel more worthwhile. To know you’re helping people out, it gives you a feeling you can’t really describe. It was definitely the best spring break I’ve had.”

Migut told the story of helping one woman who had to completely demolish what was left of her home after the tornado and rebuild from the ground up. The midshipmen helped lay the foundation of her new home.

“She was really grateful. Her husband and father were in the Navy, but her son’s in the Army so there was an ongoing joke about which T-shirt she was going to wear each day,” said Migut. “She actually teared up when we were leaving. It was really moving to see how people are still affected by what happened. There are still huge emotional repercussions.”

While in Joplin, the midshipmen met with the mayor and city council members in order to present them with a flag originally recovered in 2011 and later flown over the Battleship Missouri Memorial.